Postfire logging recoups the economic value of timber killed by wildfire, but whether such forest management activity supports or impedes forest recovery in stands differing in structure from historic conditions remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of mechanical logging after wildfire on soil bacterial and fungal communities and other...

The environmental effect of extreme soil heating, such as occurs with the complete combustion of large downed wood during wildfires, is a post-fire management concern to forest managers. To address this knowledge gap, we stacked logs to create ?mega-log? burning conditions and compared the temperature, duration and penetration of the soil heat pulse in nine high...

Soil nutrient availability often limits forest productivity and soils have considerable variation in their ability to supply nutrients. Most southern Appalachian forests are minimally managed with no fertilizer inputs or routine thinning regime. Nutrient availability is regulated by atmospheric inputs and the internal cycling of nutrients through such processes as...

Watershed ecosystem analysis provides a scientific approach to quantify and integrate resource responses to management (Hornbeck and Swank 1992) and also to address issues of resource sustainability (Christensen et. al. 1996). Philosophical components of the research approach at Coweeta are 1) the quantity, timing, and quality of streamflow provides an integrated...

In this study, we document a functional regime shift in stream inorganic nitrogen (N) processing indicated by a major change in N export from a forested watershed. Evidence from 36 years of data following experimental clearcut logging at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, NC, suggests that forest disturbance in this area can cause elevation of dissolved inorganic...

Although burned trees are the most visible damage following a wildfire, a forest?s soil can also be damaged. The heat generated by a wildfire can alter the soil?s physical properties and kill the fungi and bacteria that are responsible for nutrient cycling and other ecosystem services. What isn?t well understood is the extent of the heating within the soil and how...

Low rates of natural regeneration of big-leaf mahogany were found in gaps due to felling and natural treefalls in the Yucatan. This finding is consistent with low post-logging abundances of reproductive-sized trees as well as relatively low growth rates of planted mahogany seedlings in small felling gaps. High growth rates of seedlings in large felling gaps and...

The history of forests and logging in North America provides a back drop for our study of Watershed (WS) 7. Prior to European settlement, potentially commercial forests covered approximately 45% of North America, but not all of it was the pristine, ancient forest that some have imagined. Prior to 1492, Native Americans had extensive settlements throughout eastern...

Environmental change and long-term fire management in the western United States have created conditions that facilitate high-intensity burn areas in forested systems. Such burns may have dramatic effects on the soil microbial communities. In this study, we utilized experimental infrastructure in the Pringle Falls Experimental Forest in Oregon, where ten pairs of sites...

Fire suppression and logging have contributed to major changes in California?s Sierra Nevada forests. Strategically placed landscape treatments (SPLATS) are being used to reduce density of trees, shrubs, and surface fuels to limit wildfire intensity and spread, but may negatively impact fishers (Pekania pennanti). We used camera traps to survey for...